Making Friends with Foreigners：From the Foreigner’s Side 与老外交朋友：从老外的角度看Making Friends with Foreigners：From the Foreigner’s Side 与老外交朋友：从老外的角度看I moved to China seven years ago. I couldn't speak any Chinese.I lived far outside of Guangzhou, so language was a big problem.Going shopping, going to the bank, and even going to a restaurant was difficult.Making a good friend or having a great conversation was impossible！
Even though I didn't have many friends, the people around me were all very warm. Every day someone would see me on the street and say，“Hi！Nice to meet you！”At first, I got excited when people talked to me.I thought，“I might make a new friend！”However, those conversations never became friendships.The conversations were just so……boring.
Soon, I started to be afraid of those people！When someone said，“Hi！Nice to meet you！”I would think，“Oh, no！Not again！”I stopped smiling at strangers. I started wearing headphones all the time.Sometimes, I pretended I couldn't speak English！
My American friends had the same problem. Most of us were teachers, and we worked hard in classrooms and in English Corners.When Chinese students tried to get free conversation practice from us on the street, we felt like we were working for free.Most of us hated it！
My friend Bryce had a funny habit. If a stranger said“Hi！”to him on the street, he would always say，“English practice is 150 per hour.Please pay first！”I thought this was funny, but I also knew that there was a problem.Those people were not trying to be rude.They just wanted to learn, but they did not know how to make friends with foreigners successfully！
I wanted to help those Chinese English learners, because I had exactly the same problem. You see, while you were trying to learn English, I was also trying to learn Chinese.Just like you, I also needed some help！